Anlo Youth Organisation

Last updated
Anlo Youth Organisation
Leader Modesto Apaloo
Founded1952
Dissolved1957
Merged into United Party
1954 elections 1

The Anlo Youth Organisation (also known as the Anlo Youth Association) was a political party that existed in the Gold Coast and later Ghana. It campaigned for the Ewe people under British rule to stay within Ghana after independence. It ended by merging with other parties to form a united opposition to the Convention People's Party.

Contents

Before independence

The Anlo Youth Organisation was formed by Modesto Apaloo. The party mainly functioned in the south-eastern Gold Coast, where the Anlos are located. [1] The Anlos are a subgroup of the Ewes found in Ghana and Togo. Togoland, where the Ewes lived was a German protectorate before World War I. In 1952, the British merged the south-eastern part of the Gold Coast which was part of the Eastern Province with the southern part of Trans-Volta Togoland, the British Togoland. This left the Ewe divided with one half under British rule and the other half under French rule. [1] The party campaigned to have the British Togoland join Gold Coast at independence to form Ghana while the Togoland Congress preferred the UN Trust Territory to be rejoined with French Togoland.

In the election held on 15 June 1954, the party won one of the 104 seats in the Legislative Assembly. [2] Modesto Apaloo was the sole elected MP from this party. [3]

After independence

After Ghana obtained independence on 6 March 1957, the Avoidance of Discrimination Act, 1957 (C.A. 38), was passed. Its purpose was to prohibit the existence of political parties that were based on predominantly " ethnic, religious, or other sectional interests, with effect from 31 December 1957".

An Act to prohibit organizations using or engaging in tribal, regional,racial and religious propaganda to the detriment of any community, or securing the election of persons on account of their tribal, regional or religious affiliations and for other purpose connected therewith. [4]

This meant that the name Anlo which refers to a section of the Ewe people made it illegal for the party to continue to exist under that law. All the opposition parties, including the National Liberation Movement, Moslem Association Party, Northern People's Party, Ga Shifimo Kpee, Togoland Congress and the Anlo Youth Organisation merged to form the United Party, under the leadership of Kofi Abrefa Busia. [4]

Related Research Articles

The history of Togo can be traced to archaeological finds which indicate that ancient local tribes were able to produce pottery and process tin. During the period from the 11th century to the 16th century, the Ewé, the Mina, the Gun, and various other tribes entered the region. Most of them settled in coastal areas.. The Portuguese arrived in the late 15th century, followed by other European powers. Until the 19th century, the coastal region was a major slave trade centre, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast".

History of Ghana History of the African state

The Republic of Ghana is named after the medieval West African Ghana Empire. The empire became known in Europe and Arabia as the Ghana Empire after the title of its Emperor, the Ghana. The Empire appears to have broken up following the 1076 conquest by the Almoravid General Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar. A reduced kingdom continued to exist after Almoravid rule end, and the kingdom was later incorporated into subsequent Sahelian empires, such as the Mali Empire several centuries later. Geographically, the ancient Ghana Empire was approximately 500 miles (800 km) north and west of the modern state of Ghana, and controlled territories in the area of the Sénégal River and east towards the Niger rivers, in modern Senegal, Mauritania and Mali.

British Togoland 1916–1956 British territory in West Africa

British Togoland, officially the Mandate Territory of Togoland and later officially the Trust Territory of Togoland, was a territory in West Africa, under the administration of the United Kingdom, which subsequently entered into union with Ghana, part becoming its Volta Region. It was effectively formed in 1916 by the splitting of the German protectorate of Togoland into two territories, French Togoland and British Togoland, during the First World War. Initially, it was a League of Nations Class B mandate. In 1922, British Togoland was formally placed under British rule while French Togoland, now Togo, was placed under French rule.

Sylvanus Olympio President of Togo from 1960 to 1963

Sylvanus Épiphanio Olympio was a Togolese politician who served as prime minister, and then president, of Togo from 1958 until his assassination in 1963. He came from the important Olympio family, which included his uncle Octaviano Olympio, one of the richest people in Togo in the early 1900s.

Anlo Ewe Subgroup of the Ewe people of Togo, Ghana and Benin

The Anlo Ewe are a sub-group of the Ewe people of approximately 6 million people, inhabiting southern Togo, southern Benin, southwest Nigeria, and south-eastern parts of the Volta Region of Ghana; meanwhile, a majority of Ewe are located in the entire southern half of Togo and southwest Benin. They are a patrilineal society governed by a hierarchal, centralized authority. Their language is a dialect of the Ewe language, itself part of the Gbe language cluster. The Ewe religion is centered on a supreme god Mawu and several intermediate divinities. Christianity has now been accepted in every part of Anlo Ewe land and with minority of the people still believing vodun beliefs. The vodun also known as part of the traditional religion is now becoming a previous religion. The youth of the community today accepting Christianity much more. However, those who still believe in the vodoo worship also believes their tradition is a factor that keeps integrity and probity while Christianity stands to pave way for integrity, honesty and probity to be washed away as years go by and it is for this reason they always do away with this Christianity when it comes to issues of accountability.

Convention Peoples Party Political party in Ghana

The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC). Nkrumah was the then appointed Secretaty General of the UGCC when he was arrested by the leader of the UGCC and imprisoned for an alleged thought, plans and power against Kwame Nkrumah's leadership. Kwame Nkrumah then formed the Convention People's Party with support of some UGCC members and had a purpose for self governance. Upon Kwame Nkrumah's leadership with the CPP, he orgranized a non violent protest and strike for support of the purpose for self-governance which took him to imprisonment for a second time, but he was released after winning a massive vote by the CPP following the colonies election general election whilst he was in prison. The CPP followers supported Nkrumah's ideas and voted for him massive for power of self-governance. The articles discussed about the origins of Ghana political parties, the 1948 riot and the birth of the Convention People Party among others. Issues that led to the formation of the CPP, struggles with the colonial powers led by Kwame Nkrumah and finally the attainment of Ghana's independence were part of the key concerns for this write up.

Ewe people West African ethnic group, largest in Togo

The Ewe people are a Gbe ethnic group. The largest population of Ewe people is in Ghana, and the second largest population in Togo. They speak the Ewe language which belongs to the Gbe family of languages. They are related to other speakers of Gbe languages such as the Fon, Gen, Phla Phera, and the Aja people of Togo and Benin.

Kofi Abrefa Busia was a Ghanaian political leader and academic who was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972. As a nationalist leader and prime minister, he helped to restore civilian government to the country following military rule.

Volta Region Region of Ghana

Volta Region is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi-ethnic and multilingual, including groups such as the Ewe, the Guan, and the Akan peoples. The Guan peoples include the Lolobi, Likpe, Akpafu, Buem, and Nkonya people. This region was carved out of the Volta Region in December 2018 by the New Patriotic Party

The United Party was the main opposition party in the First Republic of Ghana. It was the only opposition party throughout its existence from 1957 until 1964 when Ghana became a one party state.

Ghana–Togo relations Bilateral relations

The strains in Ghana–Togo relations stretch back to pre-independence days.

The Togoland Congress (TCP; was a political party formed in 1951 which had won three seats in the Gold Coast elections of April 1954 and two seats in the July 1956 elections, but did not survive for long afterwards. The Togoland Congress's goal was to campaign for the unification of the Ewe people in British Togoland and French Togoland as a separate Ewe state; however the party yet again failed in the May 1956 UN plebiscite held in British Togoland, which had resulted in the unification of British Togoland and the Gold Coast.

1956 British Togoland status plebiscite

The 1956 British Togoland status plebiscite was held in British Togoland on 9 May 1956. Since World War I the territory had been a League of Nations mandate, then a United Nations Trust Territory under British control. The referendum offered residents the choice of remaining a Trust Territory until neighbouring French Togoland had decided upon its future, or becoming part of soon-to-be Ghana. The Ewe-based Togoland Congress campaigned against and preferred amalgamation with French Togoland.

Timeline of Ghanaian history

Ghana gained independence from the British on 6 March 1957. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The country became a republic on July 1, 1960.

Ewe Unification Movement

The Ewe Unification Movement was a series of west African ethno-nationalist efforts which sought the unification of the Ewe peoples spread across what are now modern Ghana and Togo. It emerged as a direct political goal around 1945 under the colonial mandate of French Togoland, however the ideal of unifying the group has been an identifiable sentiment present amongst the ethnicity's leadership and wider population ever since their initial colonial partitions by the British and German Empires from 1874 to 1884. While there have been many efforts to bring about unification, none have ultimately been successful due to both the platform itself often being a secondary concern for political leadership, or inter/intrastate conflicts overshadowing them.

Modesto Kwasi Apaloo was a Ghanaian politician. He was a Member of parliament and was the founder and leader of the defunct Anlo Youth Organisation.

Western Togoland Rebellion Separatist conflict in eastern Ghana since 2020

The Western Togoland Rebellion is an ongoing separatist revolt led-by an Ewe nationalist organization Western Togoland Restoration Front against the government of Ghana seeking the independence of former British Togoland.

Political history of Ghana

The Political history of Ghana recounts the history of varying political systems that existed in Ghana during pre-colonial times, the colonial era and after independence. Pre-colonial Ghana was made up of several states and ethnic groups whose political system was categorized by 3 main administrative models; Centralized, Non-centralized and Theocratic states. In the colonial era, the British Empire employed different forms of government among its four territorial possessions in the Gold Coast. Indirect rule was implemented in the late 19th century after its success in Northern Nigeria. From the 1940s, native Ghanaians yearned for more autonomy. This resulted in the several constitutional reforms as well as the creation of the office of the Prime Minister in 1952.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Historical Context". National Reconciliation Commission Report Volume 1 Chapter 3. Ghana Home Page. pp. 23, 24 & 29. Archived from the original on June 7, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  2. "Elections in Ghana". African Elections Database. Albert C. Nunley. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  3. Botwe-Asamoah, Kwame (2007-03-07). "K A. Busia: His Politics of Demagoguery ..." Feature Article. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 2007-06-29. On April 5, 1955, the Opposition led by Busia and Modesto Apaloo walked out of the Assembly
  4. 1 2 "Professional Bodies (Other than Legal) and Civil Society Groups" (PDF). National Reconciliation Commission Report Volume 4 Chapter 5. Ghana Home Page. pp. 258 & 259. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 28, 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-29.

See also